HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



197 



Ocana was the Tuclela of 1809.* 

 The French newspapers allowed 

 that the Spaniards, encouraged by 

 the superiority of their numbers, 

 made a vigorous resistance. The 

 Spanish newspapers stated, that 

 for a considerable time victory 

 was expected by the patriots, and 

 that acclamations of triumph were 

 heard from the ranks, when one 

 disgraceful incident turned the tide 

 of fortune in favour of the enemy. 

 A single regiment of cavalry, 

 which in an advantageous position 

 covered a large body of Spanish 

 infantry, shamefully took to flight 

 at a critical moment, and spread 

 disorder and consternation among 

 the Spaniards. The confusion 

 and alarm became instantly gene- 

 ral ; and the superior tactics of 

 the French enabled them to 

 take advantage of such a situa- 

 tion. 



' For the encouragement of the 

 patriots, the members that had 

 most influence in the junta of Se- 

 ville, appeared in the rear of the 

 army, expressing their confidence 

 that they should hold their next 

 sittings in Madrid. 



In consequence of the intelli- 

 gence received by the duke del 

 Parque, commander in chief of 

 what the Spaniards called the army 

 of the left, consisting of 25,000 or 

 30,000 men, of what had happened 

 to the army of La Mancha, he re- 

 treated from Carpeo on the night 

 of the 26th of November, first by 

 the way of Alba dc Tormes, on 

 the river Tormes, that falls through 

 Old Castille into the Douro, and 

 afterwards in a retrograde direc- 

 tion by Tamames, a town in the 



province of Leon, to the moun- 

 tains of Feanza on the borders of 

 Gallicia. This retrograde move- 

 ment was occasioned by the at- 

 tacks made by the French at Alba 

 de Tormes, which were vigorously 

 repulsed by the Spaniards ; by 

 which means the enemy being 

 kept in check, they were enabled' 

 to make good their retreat, though- 

 with the loss of great numbers of 

 men, artillery, and in a state of 

 great dispersion. In the mountains 

 of Feanza the dispersed troops 

 joined their respective divisions 

 under the duke del Parque. 



The battle of Ocana was quickly 

 followed by the reduction of Cor- 

 dova and Seville, and a road was 

 opened to Cadiz. 



While these and other subordi- 

 nate, and also many detached or 

 isolated operations in the penin- 

 sula were going on in the field, 

 sieges were carried on by the 

 French against Saragossa and Ge- 

 rona. The first siege of Saragossa 

 has been related in our volume for 

 1808.t The second siege com- 

 menced early in the month of 

 January, 1808, and on the 21st of 

 February, in the midst of ruins 

 and dead bodies, it was compelled 

 by all that could assail and over- 

 come human nature, to capitulate. 

 The heroism, the patience, and 

 the constancy of the Arragonese 

 in this second siege were not in- 

 ferior to those displayed in the 

 first. But we are not tempted to 

 exceed the just proportions that 

 ought to pervade a narrative of 

 events, coincident or nearly coin- 

 cident in time, by any account of 

 it so extremely interesting as well 



as 



See last Volume (for 1808). Hist. Euk. p. 232. 

 ■\ Hist. Eue. p. 910. 



